Observations from a Design “Outsider”

Like many of you, I am a student. Unlike many of you, I am not studying Interior Design. Or Architecture. Or anything that would immediately, remotely appear to be related to the Design industry at all. Despite my status as a double major in communications and history, since joining IIDA in early April as the communications intern, I’ve learned more than I ever thought I’d know about Interior Design and it’s day-to-day operations. Much of this knowledge has stemmed from being able to participate in the IIDA preparations for NeoCon 2012.

1) Everything would fall apart without proper communication channels- Everything. And I mean it. Without efficient forms of communication, the show would just be a lot of vendors in one place—and no one outside of NeoCon would have any idea what happened at the show. Kind of defeats much of the purpose, doesn’t it?

2) Design Students deserve major credit – It’s not that I previously thought they didn’t—but seriously. Wow, just wow. You never really know how much work goes into a Design project until you see it first hand. I had the privilege of observing the Student Design Charette during NeoCon and let me just say, the amount of hands on work they were able to put in, in such a sort time, was remarkable.

3) Showroom Appearance Can Make (or break) appeal- AIS had an amazing showroom concept— the office furniture company went with an urban dance theme, complete with DJ, fun colored lights, and name tag “bling” for their employees. Their showroom party (which featured a dance crew!) was highly attended and consistently raved about around NeoCon. Who wouldn’t want to see what sort of product was being displayed in a showroom like that? That translates to Designers making an impression on a client, too. Well, maybe a little less bling, but the concept’s the same.

The AIS showroom was enough to make anyone want to dance! At least it did for me!

4) There are so many tiny steps that go into designing a space- Every detail in the room matters, and every detail within that detail matters. Should the chair be leather or fabric? What kind of leather? Stain resistant or commercial grade fabric? And we haven’t even gotten into color yet. This may be obvious to those who’ve studied Design, but for someone who previously never thought that deeply about it, it truly is AMAZING seeing the work that goes into creating a space the rest of us blindly enjoy.